PLMN

2 more months to go, time is flying since I first found out I was going to Italy.

I tried to get a list from my mother on what she would like to visit in Rome, (besides restaurants ) and she is so busy at the moment that she has asked me to put a list together for her to review. I have no clue.

We will arrive in Italy on October 4. Don't know yet what time. We are scheduled to leave Rome on Ocotber 7 for 2 day meandering drive to villa in Cortona.

What would be the most (in your opinion) special places to visit while in Rome, from the MOST MUST to not as MUST but still should?

rj007

Since you only have 2 full days in Rome which is not a lot of time, I would suggest you aim for the basic must sees - Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, Coliseum and the Vatican.
If at all possible, see the Trevi Fountain at night -it is spectacular. The Vatican Musuem is worth a visit, but you could spend a week there, so it would just be a brief overview.

I like the Top 10 Guidebooks - they give some good ideas of what is worth seeing. I loved my visit to Rome and want to get back there.

uhoh_busted

check out Rick Steve's Italy book at the library. He has a walking tour that hits many of the "biggies" in a couple of hours. It really is a decent base to be sure you'll cover some special places.

PLMN

Gee, I hadn't really considered how little time we would have to see the sites of Rome. This is why I love the HELPFUL people on this site.

I will look into these suggestions and eagerly look forward to any more input. Then I will compare all the suggestions and go from there.

Nikki

I would build one of your full days around the forum and the Colosseum, starting by walking up Michelangelo's steps to the Capitoline hill and taking in the view over the forum, then descending into it and walking through it toward the Colosseum.

The other full day should be built around the Vatican. You can go through the Vatican Museum to the Sistine Chapel, then exit through the door to the right at the rear of the Sistine Chapel. This exit is supposed to be used only by tour groups, but you can wait for a group to go through and follow along with them. This will save you a lot of walking back to the beginning of the museum and around the Vatican wall to St. Peter's, and it will also save you from having to go through security again to get into St. Peter's. The exit will leave you very close to the entrance to St. Peter's, which you should then tour.

Neither of these activities needs to take a full day. You can fit in other sights such as the Pantheon, Piazza Navona, and the Trevi Fountain in the afternoons and evenings.

SalB

We saw the Spanish Steps in March and there were no flowers, the church was covered with scaffolding and it was pretty dull in general. October could be much the same so be prepared. With luck the flowers will still be blooming in October!

You could take a hop on hop off bus tour. They hit the highlights and you can get off and visit the sights you want, and at least you would see the highlights. You could also take the bus back around to anything you wanted to visit at length.

Have a great time.

Melissajoy

Take 1 day to see St. Peter's Basilica (wow! it's amazing!) and the Vatican Museums.

Take 1 day to see as many of these sights as you can fit in (within walking distance of each other): Trevi fountain, Piazza Navona, Spanish steps, the Pantheon. Lots of good restaurants in this area too, and good central hotels.

If you have a 3rd day, see the colosseum and the Roman forum, but I suggest hiring a private licensed tour guide so you will understand what you are seeing.

PLMN

Thanks ya'll.

I'm going to send these posts to my mother and father for their review. If anyone else has any suggestions, please do not hesitate to add them on.

Best Wishes,
plmn

elaine

I've been pretty disappointed with the Sp Steps myself, nothing like the flower-filled post card pictures. Just steps ending in a busy, littered, public plaza. Didn't do anything for me.
On the other hand, I was unexpectedly very happy about the Trevi Fountain, it surpassed my expectations (which were kinda low) and it's quite near the Steps.

I'd say 4 hours or so for the Vatican and St Peter's and I recommend a guided walking tour to make the most of your time. Scala Reale, Enjoy Rome, or Through Eternity.

I'd say that afternoon, to clear your head, do a Sp Steps/Trevi fountain/shopping browsing walk.

I'd also suggest a walking tour that encompasses the Roman forum and the Colosseum, that's another half day.

For the remaining half day that we're sure you have, work in a couple of important churches (like S Pietro in Vincoli, where Michelangelo's "Moses" is) and/or the Borghese Gallery, which has phenomenal sculptures, and you're limited to a 2-hour visit. The grounds are very beautiful as well, even in early Oct. Booking ahead is encouraged.

cparris

I would also recommend the Top 10 Rome book. It is well organized and easy to carry around with maps and restaurant ideas for every area. The day you get there, you will be tired. I would spend that day walking around and seeing the spanish steps, trevi fountain, pantheon...and their neighborhoods. From the Pantheon, you can walk to the Piazza Navona. There are several interesting churches in the area including Santa Maria Sopra Minerva, San Luigi dei Francesi, Sant Agostino, Santa Maria della Place...which have incredible artwork inside. Its fun to wander around the little streets in the Piazza Navona and Campo dei Fiori area.
I would highly recommend making a reservation at the Galleria Borghese Museum. It is really a museum that shouldn't be missed. You call and make reservations for a particular time...9, 11... and are allowed to see the museum for 2 hours. It has the most incredible Bernini sculptures that even a non museum goer would appreciate. If you see the museum in the morning you could go to the Coliseum and Forum in the afternoon...or vice versa. The Vatican museum and St. Peters of course is worth a visit. If you get there early you could spend 4-5 hours seeing both and then perhaps go to travestere and walk around. It is fun to walk through the narrow streets.

strass

When I spent three days in Rome, here's what I saw:

--Coliseum
--Forum
--Trevi Fountain
--Spanish Steps (great for people-watching in the evenings)
--Sistine Chapel (whizzed through the museum, too)
--St. Peter's (climbed to the top)
--Piazza Navona
--Pantheon (loved this)
--a contemporary art museum, can't remember the name
--church decorated with monks' bones--Capucine something? Very creepy!

I felt like I covered all the basics, with a few extras thrown in. Three days is ample time to get a good taste of the city!

metellus

The Spanish steps is an utter waste of time, unless you have an unhealthy fascination with concrete. There just ain't anything there but steps and the same bare-middled teeny girls and annoying street vendors thatyou can see a lot cheaper at home. Plaza Navona has has very little to see, but it's worth a look only because it is a few minutes the Pantheon - andyou'll probablywantto see that.

Jun04ItalyHoneymoon

With only two full days, I would spend your first evening there strolling to see the Spanish Steps, the Trevi Fountain, and Piazza Navona. Your first full day, I would do the Scala Reale Vatican tour followed by the Vatican Scavi tour (if possible). On your second full day, I would do a Coliseum/Roman Forum tour, stop by the Pantheon, and then wander around in Trastavere.

Jocelyn_P

Even if you're not a big museum person, the Borghese Gallery is an absolute must-see in my eyes. Those Bernini sculptures blew me away.

capo

Places/sights you shouldn't miss in Rome (grouped by general location) are...

. St. Peter's (I'd highly recommend going to the top of the dome for the great view)

. The Pantheon and Piazza della Rotonda
. Piazza Navona (Campo di Fiori is nearby)

. The Trevi Fountain
. The Spanish Steps

. The Coliseum
. The Roman Forum
. The view from the top of the Vittorio Emmanuelle monument (the bright white structure you can't miss)
. The Piazza del Campidoglio (right next to the Vittorio Emmanulle monument)

capo

P.S. In looking up the spelling of a word, I came across this nice website of Rome photos...

http://www.iaingilfillan.net/photogr...laces/rome.htm

job816_2

Can anyone name the excavation site where they have all the cats? I can't remember. I thought that was a very unique site. Of course I wanted to take all the cats home with me.

Eloise

The cat sanctuary is at the Largo di Torre Argentina (on the route of the infamous 64 bus that goes from Termini to St. Peter's; beware pickpockets and other disagreeable types).

It does seem to me, though, that the cats are far less numerous now than they were in the late 70s and 80s.

nanb

Eloise, that maybe (less cats at the sanctuary)but when we were there this spring and went down into it to vist with the women who started it, they said they feed over 200 cats daily. !!!

People actually do adopt some of their cats and take them home to their countries
i think that is admirable, but with so many cats homeless in every country there is, I wonder about how practical it is ?

One more suggestion.
Stand on the Ponte Sisto at sunset and look north towards St.Peter's. View is lovely.

Eloise

It was not my intention to denigrate the cat sanctuary at Largo di Torre Argentina.

When I first visited, in 1978, a friend who had an apartment near Campo de Fiori, I looked out from her terrace onto a ruin (since converted into a desirable apartment building) on which I counted not less than 42 cats.

A mutual friend adopted two cats who made it from the ruin onto my friend's terrace. They not only lived long and happy lives but assumed proportions that Roman alley cats could never imagine in their wildest dreams...

The friend with the terrace in Rome has recently returned to North America with three cats that she adopted there.